A Cure for Loneliness
by Lauricula
Summary: Hermione is whisked off by the Tenth Doctor, while her husband Ron is Romania with brother Charlie, and best friend Harry is forced to work all the time. Together they make a great team, battling aliens and saving the human race. Author note: The title was inspired by a JohnLock fic titled "A Cure for Boredom".
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Hermione walked in to her one bedroom apartment, and tossed her keys into the small bowl by the door. Kicking off her shoes, and placing her jacket on the coat rack, she began to wonder what she was going to do for dinner this evening. _I could go out, I suppose. I haven't been out to eat in ages. _She said to herself. Yes, that's what she would do. But first, to tidy up her apartment.

Hermione had been out of Hogwarts for five years now, and was happily married to none other than Ron Weasley. Ron was currently in Romania, studying with his brother Charlie. So while he was gone, she decided to stay in the apartment her parents had first rented for her at the end of her sixth year, so she would have it when she was done school. As much as she liked magic, she enjoyed being back amongst the muggle world. She still made visits to Mrs. Weasley and the others' and they understood of her living decision. Harry, her best friend and now brother-in-law since he had married Ginny, was far too busy at work lately to spend some time with Hermione.

Her apartment was still in London, making it an easy commute to work every day. She was managing to balance a job at the Ministry in the Magical Law Department and volunteering in a science lab a few blocks away from her apartment.

After taking out the trash, washing the dirty dishes and folding her clean clothes, Hermione was ready to go out for dinner. She flicked off the lights, and shut the door behind her. Feeling a bit lonely, she settled on a quiet diner where she could be alone with her thoughts. Even though she encouraged Ron to go to Romania, she missed him quite terribly. Even Harry was unavailable, and that was something she wasn't used to.

Her food arrived, and Hermione realized just how hungry she was. The delicious smell of her steak pie wafted into her nostrils. Grabbing her fork, she dug in, forgetting all about her loneliness.

Almost an hour later, Hermione left the diner with a stomach full of steak pie and coffee. Her waitress had been friendly, and sat to chat with Hermione; as the diner wasn't very busy on a Monday evening.

The temperature had dropped a fair bit, and Hermione drew her coat tightly around her neck. As she was walking past an alley way, she had a loud clang. She froze, and peered down the alley with the corner of her eye. It was dark, and she couldn't see much.

"Hello?" she called, but regretting immediately.

She grasped her wand in her pocket, and began to walk hesitantly into the alley. "Lumos" she whispered, and a bulb of light appeared at the end of her wand. She was looking frantically around her to see what had made the noise; nothing so far. She was looking to her right, when she ran into someone.

"Ow!" she yelped, staggering backwards a bit.

"Oi!" a man's voice said. "What are you shining that bright light about for?"

Hermione lowered her wand just a bit. "Sorry." She mumbled, still rubbing her head.

When she turned to look back the man, she saw that he was smiling down at her. He was wearing a blue suit, red converse, and his brown hair was sticking up wildly in the front.

"Are you okay?" he asked, sounding concerned now.

"I'm fine. I just-hang on. What are you doing dressed like that, wandering about in a dingy alley?" she asked accusingly.

The man in the suit raised his eyebrows at her. "What's a young lady such as yourself doing poking around in alleys with a bright light?" he retorted.

She frowned. "Well, I heard a loud noise, and I thought-"

"You're a curious one, are you?! I love it!" his voice was chipper. _Such a strange man. _

"Erm, I suppose." Said Hermione, now a bit frightened. "Hey, what's that behind you?" she asked, pointing her wand to a large, blue police box that was behind the man.

The man smiled widely, and patted the front of it. "This is my TADIS." He said proudly.

"Sorry, your what?" Hermione asked, now utterly confused.

"My TARDIS. It's a time machine." He said, as if she should have already known this.

"Time machine?" Hermione chuckled. "That's impossible."

He raised an eyebrow at her again. "Oh really? So how is it not impossible for you to have a wand?" he asked, pointing at hers.

Hermione gasped. "How did you know-?"

"Time travel. I've seen people use them before." He said, leaning against the TARDIS and folding his arms over his chest. A smirk had settled on his face, and he watched her steadily.

There was no way this man could have known that without Hermione telling him so, and since he already knew, she didn't have much of a choice but to believe him. But just to be sure… "Prove it then."

"I'm sorry?"

"Prove to me that that's a time machine." She said, waving her arm at the TARDIS. Time travel was not completely foreign to her; she had, after all, used a time turner in her third year. But an actual time machine? She couldn't believe it.

The man studied her for a moment; before he creaked open the door. "Go on then. Have a look."

Slowly, Hermione walked towards the open door of the TARDIS. The man moved aside, allowing her room to walk in. As soon as she did, her jaw dropped. She could feel the man observing her, still a smirk on his face. There was a control center in the middle, and an old car seat on the far side. It was brightly lit, and a tube ran from the ceiling down into the control center. Blue tubes were inside the bigger tube; they were completely still. It was also bigger on the inside. Though this was not that strange to her; after all, she had stayed in a tent that was bigger on the inside at the World Cup during her fourth year.

"You're a wizard…" she breathed. "This, this is magic!" _He ought to be a bit more careful about it. _She thought, scowling.

The man adapted a look of confusion. "No, not quite. I'm not a wizard, and my TARDIS is definitely not magic."

"Well of course you are! It's the only logical explanation!" she said, growing a tad bit frustrated.

"Yeah, no, not a wizard. I'm a Time lord; an alien. Two hearts, wanna feel?" he asked, speaking very fast.

She tilted her head, studying the strange, strange man. "No, I most certainly do not."

She turned to walk out of the alley, leaving the man and his blue box behind.

"Wait!" he called; Hermione ignored him and kept walking. "I thought you wanted me to prove it to you."

Hermione stopped in her tracks; this was true. She had told him to prove it to her, and she had nothing better to do tonight. _But what if he was dangerous? _She thought. _I can just disapparate. _She reminded herself.

She spun around her heel, holding her head high. "Fine. One 'trip', and then you bring me back home." She ordered firmly.

The man nodded, and a realization dawned on her. "Wait." She said bluntly. The man turned and looked at her.

"Tell me your name." she said.

He smiled. "I'm The Doctor."

"The Doctor? Doctor who?" she asked; this is no time for jokes.

"Precisely." He said, stepping into his box.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Hermione." She said; following the man called 'The Doctor' into the TARDIS.

"Sorry?" he asked, shutting the door behind him.

"My name is Hermione. Not that you bothered to ask." She muttered the last part under her breath.

"I was getting to that, relax. You're a bit touchy. Are you always this uptight?" The Doctor asked, running to the control center and turning knobs.

Hermione scowled, and approached the control center. There were knobs and levers and buttons and it all made her head spin. Blimey this was bizarre. "So, erm, where are we going?" she asked, trying best not show her fear.

"Where do you want to go?" He really was quite quirky. "Different planet? The past? The future? Take your pick!" he said waving his arms.

Hermione gave it some thought, and a sad thought dawned on her. "The past. Five years ago. July." She said softly.

The Doctor gave her a strange look before confirming their destination with a press of a button. "Hold on!" he said.

Hermione grabbed hold just in time before the TARDIS took off and they were flying. This didn't bother her much as she had traveled by port key plenty of times. Just as quick as the TARDIS took off, it landed.

"Go on." The Doctor said, nodding his head towards the door.

Hermione looked at the door, but didn't move. She was reluctant to believe this was a time machine, as it would mean that she was wrong; and that rarely ever happened. The only way to find out however would be to walk out those doors. She could feel The Doctor's eyes on her, waiting for her to move.

She swallowed, and with shaking legs, walked outside of the TARDIS. The sun was shining high in the sky, and it was rather warm out. People were bustling about on the street, occupied with their own thoughts and problems. Hermione shook her head. She whirled around and jumped when she saw The Doctor standing in the doorway.

"Told you." He said with a satisfactory smile.

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows and turned back to the street. "I have somewhere near here that I want to visit. Is that alright?" she asked; though she didn't quite understand why she wanted The Doctor's opinion.

"Sure. Just let me lock up the TARDIS." He said, pulling a key from his pocket.

"We're not taking the TARDIS there?" she asked.

The Doctor looked at her like she had three heads. "We've got two legs perfectly capable of walking! Come on then!" he said heading to the street.

Hermione shook her head at the man. She ran to catch up with him, wondering what she had gotten herself in to.

She led The Doctor out of town, towards the suburbs. Neither of them spoke much, and she found the silence quite comfortable. The further out of town they got, the less people they saw, and she thought it an appropriate time to bring up their previous debate.

"So, alien huh?" she asked.

She saw The Doctor smile and shake his head. "What made you believe me?"

"Being a witch, I've seen a lot of strange things that muggles would never believe. Dragons. A dark wizard with no mercy. Goblins. Floating candles. Letters that yell at you, you name it." She said, looking up at the sky. "Seems rather silly of me not to believe you."

The Doctor stopped walking. "Letters that yell at you?"

Hermione nodded. "Howlers, they're called."

"That's brilliant!" he said, now continuing his stride.

They reached a development of houses, and Hermione led him to the fourth row. She stopped, remembering the rules of time travel from her third year. "I'm not allowed to see them am I?" she asked, looking at the fifth house in the row.

"Allowed to see who?" The Doctor asked.

"My parents. I…never mind. Just tell me, am I allowed to see them?" she asked desperately, though she already knew the answer.

"Are you still with them, in this moment?" he asked, his tone now serious.

Hermione nodded.

"Then no, I'm sorry. You're not." He said, and he did sound truly sorry.

"I thought so. Can we just, hide out then? I haven't seen them in so long." She asked. _Maybe this trip hadn't been a good idea. _She thought. All it was doing was making her sad.

The Doctor didn't protest, and so they hid behind a hedge of bushes and sat, peeking over every few minutes for signs of her parents.

"What happened to your parents, Hermione?" The Doctor asked cautiously, nudging her leg.

"Eight years ago, a dark wizard came back into power. And three years later, my two best friends and I had to set out to destroy him; we were the only ones who knew how. But as a safety precaution, in case he came looking for us, we put our families into protection. I wiped my parents' memories, and changed their names and sent them to Australia. They don't even know I exist now; haven't for five years." She sniffled and wiped a tear from her cheek; it was still a sensitive subject.

"I'm sorry." He said.

"S'alright. Saved the whole world in the end." She said, recalling her journey for the Horcruxes.

Hermione sat up and peeked over the hedge. She gasped as she saw her parents exiting her house. They were laughing and she saw herself walking with them. The three of them looked so happy, and knots formed in the pit of her stomach. She sat back down on the ground next to The Doctor and drew her legs up to her chest.

"You saw them?" he asked.

Hermione nodded. "I saw myself with them. We were so happy." She whispered; the knots growing tighter.

The Doctor positioned himself in front of her, and she looked up to meet his gaze. "Hermione, you did what you had to do. You saved your parents and this entire planet from a terrible wizard. You are so brave and so strong." He said, smiling at her.

Hermione smiled, tearfully. "I know."

The Doctor rose, looking out at the empty street. "Now, I know I promised one trip only, but I'm not taking you home while you're still sad. So! One more trip to cheer you up a bit and then back home we go!" he said gleefully, extending his hand to Hermione.

"I'd rather just go home, actually." She said coolly. She was not used to being told what she was going to do.

"Did I mention you don't have a choice?" The Doctor flashed a toothy smile at her, and pulled her off the ground. "I know this beautiful planet; absolutely gorgeous! You'll love it! Come on!"

Hermione didn't have time to protest as The Doctor whisked her back to The TARDIS. _This better be good. _She thought.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Hermione had stopped them half-way back to the TARDIS and apparated them back to the alley. The Doctor took a second to regain his balance.

"I prefer walking, I think." He muttered. "Quite an unpleasant sensation."

Hermione laughed. "You travel around in this thing all the time, but you couldn't handle apparation?"

"I don't feel as though I'm being compressed from every angle traveling in this!" he said defensively. "Right! Off we go!" Pushing the same button as before, the TARDIS came to life. Hermione grabbed on to a bar in front of her just as she had before.

They landed, and she eyed The Doctor suspiciously. Traveling back in time was one thing; she could do that if she had a time turner again. But a different planet? It seemed a bit far-fetched to her.

"You'll love the planet of Faloth!" He said cheerfully, practically pushing Hermione out of the TARDIS. "Beautiful landscape! Wonderful…people, and I use that term very loosely." He said, casting a look in her direction.

Beautiful was a bit of an understatement. The sky was a fluid mix of pinks and reds, swirling into each other. Mountains in the distance were snow- capped and a majestic shade of purple. There was a lake just a few feet away from them, and its surface was shimmering a shade of sky blue. Everything was so _vibrant. _

"You were right, this place is beautiful." Hermione said softly, taking it all in.

"Of course, I'm right, I'm always right. Come on! Off to explore!" They were off again, heading towards what Hermione could only think to be a castle. It appeared to be made of ice, but Hermione doubted it. She stood corrected as they approached the castle and saw that it was in fact, made of ice.

"Let's see who's in here." The Doctor said curiously, opening the front doors. The strange thing about the castle was despite being made of ice, it wasn't cold.

The Doctor and Hermione turned down a corridor and saw traces of no one.

"Doctor, pardon me, but, it seems a bit strange that there isn't a single sign of life in this castle. I mean, you said there were…people on this planet, right?" she said nervously.

The Doctor looked around as they continued to a staircase. "I thought so anyway. Better find out why!"

They continued up the stair case and traveled along that corridor; doors were open but rooms were vacant. The Doctor stopped halfway along the corridor.

"Strange; no sign of a struggle, fight, break in, nothing. It's just…empty. But how can that be possible?" The Doctor spoke more to himself than to Hermione; ruffling a hand through his hair. "Come on." He said rather darkly, continuing to the end of the corridor.

Hermione considered using the spell "Homenum Revelio", but realized if there were any signs of life, the spell wouldn't recognize them, as they most likely were not humans. Instead she followed in The Doctor's wake, keeping an eye out for any signs of movement, and her wand out in front of her. She had been used to being in this position, and her heart no longer raced.

"Doctor something doesn't feel right to me…" Hermione had this strange feeling in her stomach, and fear was beginning to spread through her body.

"Well me either, but we've got to figure out what." He said irritably. They had taken another set of stairs, and still had not seen a single sign of life.

"Doctor wait." Hermione froze, her voice shaking.

"What!" he exclaimed, it seemed Hermione had interrupted a thought.

"It's important!" She was frozen on the spot.

The Doctor came back to where she stood. "What is it?"

"Well," she gulped. "I noticed that there's no sun on this planet."

"Yes, and?"

"If there's no sun, and no light source in this castle from what I've seen, then how is there a shadow in that room?" Hermione pointed a shaky finger into the room adjacent to them. The Doctor peered in and saw that Hermione was quite right. There was a shadow, in the corner of the room, and The Doctor got a strange feeling that it knew they were there.

"Run." Was all he said, and Hermione didn't hesitate for a single second.

Together, they bolted down the corridor and took as many turns as they could, in hopes of confusing the shadow; if it had followed them that is. Neither one of them dared to look back. The Doctor gripped her hand tightly to make sure she kept up. As strange as it was, she barely knew The Doctor, yet she trusted him completely.

They took their chances and stopped outside of another room, two floors above where they originally saw the shadow. A muffled, husky voice was coming from inside the room.

"Doctor," Hermione whispered, tugging on his sleeve. "I think there's someone in that room."

The Doctor looked at her curiously and peeped into the room. "Quite right you are, and nothing to be afraid of by the way. Come on, let's go chat!" The Doctor's mood was suddenly perky, and cheerful.

She followed him in to the room, and was a bit shocked at the creature that stood before her. It had the body of what appeared to be human; two arms, two legs, even had hands and feet, but it had a birds head. At first glance, it was a bit frightening, but the more you looked at it, the less intimidating it became.

"Who are you? You are not like me." The creature said, stepping forward. Hermione gripped her wand tighter.

The Doctor pulled out what appeared to be a wallet and flashed a piece of paper in front of the creature's eyes. "Don't worry," he said nonchalantly. "We're here to help. This is Hermione, my assistant."

"Erm, hello." Hermione said awkwardly. She had a feeling the creature did not want The Doctor and her here.

"Oh, good! Strange things have been happening, Doctor. We are like zombies now." The creature grunted.

"What do you mean? Like zombies? Are they dead?" The Doctor spit-balled these questions, not giving the creature any time to answer.

"Not dead, but-" the creature began.

"Under a curse? Or spell, maybe?" Hermione chimed in. The creature gave her a strange look, but The Doctor considered it for a moment.

"No, I don't think so. You lot have to be careful with your use of magic, yes?" he asked, stroking his chin.

Hermione nodded.

"If it's doing this to an entire planet, I don't think it's using magic." The Doctor muttered.

"Excuse me, sir," Hermione said, approaching the creature. "We saw a shadow on the way up here. Is that normal around here?"

The creature looked frightened at the mention of the word shadow. "They take." It said.

"They take? They take what?" The Doctor demanded.

The creature shook its bird head furiously, refusing to speak any further.

The Doctor stepped back, frustrated. "Do you mind if we have a look around?"

The creature shot him a look of warning, before dismissing the two from the room.

"Right, keep your eyes peeled. We don't know what the shadows do yet, and I don't want to find out first hand." The Doctor's tone was firm, and she knew he meant business. "Oh, and don't wander off. No one ever seems to get that rule." He muttered to himself.

Hermione peeked around every corner as they wandered about the castle some more. She managed to stay alert with the dozens of questions swimming around in her head.

"Doctor, what was that creature? And how could we understand it?" she asked.

"It's called a Faloth; the planet was named after them. The TARDIS translates whatever planet we end up on." He said mindlessly; she could tell he was concentrated on finding what was so dangerous about these shadows.

They didn't bother inspecting other floors, in case there were shadows, and so they went back to the room with the Faloth.

"More shadows?" the creature asked.

"Not on this floor, no. Say, if you know about the shadows, why are you here?" The Doctor asked.

"The shadows took my family. I am alone." The creature said sadly.

Hermione stepped closer to The Doctor and whispered. "Is he just going to let himself…be taken by these Shadows?"

The Doctor nodded slowly. "There's no need for that. I don't think your family is dead. You just get to a safe place, all right?" he commanded.

The Faloth considered this for a moment. "I will hide for now. But if tomorrow, my family still gone, I will come back to castle."

He left the room, leaving The Doctor and Hermione alone. "How do you even tell time on this planet? There's no day or night?" The Doctor muttered.

"Doctor, if the shadows aren't killing the Faloths, what if they're just…using their bodies? You know, like mind control?" she proposed.

The Doctor stopped pacing and looked at her like he had never seen her before. "How did you come up with that?" he asked softly.

"Well," she began. "Shadows don't have bodies, do they? But it seems that these shadows are living in a sense, like a spirit you can see almost. And what if what they want is bodies? That's how Voldemort came back." She explained. "Well, he kind of…formed his own body…but it's generally the same concept."

The Doctor stepped towards her slowly, and grasped her shoulders. "You. Are. Brilliant!" He exclaimed. "Has anyone ever told you that?"

She laughed, admiring his excitement. "All my life."

"Let's go see if we can find any of these mind-controlled Faloth's." The way he said it made Hermione giggle, and they left the ice castle, careful to keep an eye out for shadows.

Hermione felt safe once out of the castle, probably because there weren't any corners for shadows to hide. The next closest building was at least a quarter of a mile away. She almost asked if they could apparate, but remembering The Doctor's reaction, she decided against it.

"Do you always travel alone?" Hermione asked.

The Doctor's expression changed in that second and she thought she saw a wave of sadness flood his eyes. "Not until recently. I used to have another companion." He said.

"Well what happened?" Hermione persisted.

The Doctor took a moment to answer before saying, "She got trapped in a parallel universe." He said dryly. "I'll never be able to see her again."

"I'm sorry." Hermione apologized, now feeling guilty for asking in the first place.

"She was brilliant, she was. Saved lives plenty of times." He continued.

"What was her name?"

It seemed as if The Doctor was fighting back tears now. "Rose."

Hermione said nothing more of the subject, and merely patted The Doctor on the arm. He smiled weakly at her as they continued to walk towards the building where they hoped to find more Faloths.

Finally approaching, the knots in Hermione's stomach returned. What if these Faloths were dangerous? She clenched her wand as she and The Doctor opened the door to the warehouse-like building.

It was dark, and musty. Hermione lit the tip of her wand and The Doctor looked at her appreciatively. They stepped further into the building, and stopped when they saw movement to the left of them.

"Faloth?" The Doctor called. "We're here to help you. Don't be scared."

Hermione raised her wand so the light flooded the floor in front of them. Three Faloths were a mere two feet in front of them and Hermione felt her knees weaken just a tad.

They weren't blinking, and they weren't moving. "Are they possessed by the shadows?" she whispered.

"I think so." He replied. "Just don't move, alright. Stay still." Hermione nodded. _I thought I was done with dangerous situations by now. _She thought to herself.

"I'm The Doctor." He said confidently. "Talk to me, let me help you."

Hermione thought this was rather foolish, until one of the Faloths spoke.

"We do not need your help. We have bodies." Said the Faloth on the left.

"You can't just come to a planet and take creature's bodies!" said The Doctor already exasperated.

"But we got separated from our ship. We need life to survive." The same Faloth spoke again.

The Doctor let out a soft "Ohhhh."

"How did you get separated from your ship?" Hermione asked, trying to sound as confident as The Doctor.

"We were travelling. Across the stars. Something happened, and we landed here." The Faloth in the middle spoke this time.

"You don't know where your ship went?" The Doctor asked, clearly thinking now.

"We do not know. Our ship landed with us." The middle Faloth spoke again.

"Doctor, how did they survive in the ship?" Hermione asked, perplexed.

"Their ship is alive; not walking, talking alive, but alive in that sustains life. They need it, or else they'll die. The Faloths were readily available and so they latched on to them." He explained in a hush tone.

"Listen, we're going to find your ship, and when we do, you are to set the Faloths free, understand?" The Doctor asked, speaking clearly and watching the Faloths in front of the pair.

They nodded and The Doctor and Hermione turned to leave the building.

"Where do we start?" Hermione asked.

"No idea." Said The Doctor, strolling out of the building.

They made their back near the lake. Hermione realized that they hadn't the faintest idea of how to begin looking of the Shadow's ship. She wondered briefly if the Doctor had thought of this as well.

"Doctor-" she began, but the Doctor was strolling towards the lake they had seen earlier.

He bent down to the edge of the water and took an instrument out of his suit pocket. Walking up beside him, she saw that the instrument was giving off a blue light and made a funny noise.

"What is that?" she asked curiously.

"Sonic screwdriver. It does practically everything, very handy." The Doctor continued to walk around the edge of the lake sonicing the water's edge. After a moment or two, he stopped. "Aha!" he exclaimed. "Found you." He picked up what appeared to be an egg-shaped spaceship.

"Is that it then?" Hermione asked, walking over to where The Doctor stood.

"Think so." He said lightly, tossing it in the air then pocketing it. "Come on, back to the Faloths. Time to set the Shadows free."

They walked quickly back to the warehouse building and burst through the doors. The Faloths stood exactly where they were when The Doctor and Hermione left.

"We've got your ship, you're free to go now!" The Doctor proclaimed, withdrawing the ship from his pocket.

There was a brief pause before three Shadows separated from the body of the Faloths' and flew into the ship. Hermione and The Doctor jumped as hundreds of Shadows flew towards the ship; they hadn't realized there were more Faloths.

"Come on then." The Doctor winked as he carried the ship outside; Hermione followed.

The Doctor threw the ship into the sky and watched it soar back into space. He scratched his head. "Well, this is a change."

"What is?"

"Usually, I'm in a more dramatic situation than this. It's never this simple." He said, completely confused.

"And that's a bad thing? I mean you just gave creatures their free will back." Hermione said, a bit annoyed at The Doctor's obvious unsatisfactory with their adventure.

"No, no, it's not that. It's just that these types of situations are usually more dangerous."

"I think you should be grateful." Hermione said coolly.

He looked at her and tilted his head. "I am."

"How did you know to look by the lake for the ship?" Hermione asked.

He smiled. "You're clever, think about it."

Hermione thought, and after a moment she realized. "The ship was alive…and so is the lake. It needed something that was alive, and the lake must have been the closest thing." She said, a smile spreading across her face.

"Exactly! You really are clever!" he marveled.

They entered the TARDIS and walked to the center.

"So, do you want to go back home?" The Doctor asked. He seemed a bit sad at the thought of being alone again; and Hermione would be in the same position if she returned him.

"It's been a few years since I've been on an adventure." She smiled at The Doctor and off they went; destination unknown.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The TARDIS landed rather harshly, and both Hermione and The Doctor fell to the ground.

"Is the travel always this rough?" Hermione asked, standing up.

"Not usually. Though the TARDIS seems to have brought us back to Earth. Well now that's boring!" The Doctor said grumpily.

"What do you mean the TARDIS did that? You control it?" Hermione asked; she was never going to get the hang of this.

"Well, usually." Was all he said. He grabbed his trench coat and walked to the doors. "Are you just going to stand there?" he flashed a smile before opening the door.

Hermione pondered the thought for a moment. She could just stay here…but she did like solving the mystery on Faloth. Not to mention she told The Doctor moments ago that she hadn't been on an adventure in a while. The Doctor reappeared in the doorway. "Oi, that wasn't an actual question!"

"Right, sorry. Just thinking." Hermione said, shaking her head.

When Hermione stepped out of the TRADIS her stomach gave a slight churn. She knew _exactly _where they were. But it couldn't be; she had no reason to be back here. The Doctor was standing a few feet ahead of her, admiring the small village they stood in the center of. "Well now, _this _is beautiful!"

"Doctor, listen, I know where we are." Hermione said, her voice shaking slightly.

The Doctor gave her a look of confusion; undoubtedly he wasn't used to his companions knowing where they were.

"And how is it you know where we are?" he asked, approaching Hermione, who hadn't moved but a couple of inches from the TARDIS.

"Because Hogwarts let us take trips here throughout the school year. We're in Hogsmeade." She said, looking at the empty streets of the village.

The Doctor made a face. "The village is prettier than the name. Now, why exactly, are we here?"

Hermione merely shrugged. "Listen, I know you're going to want to go into the castle, but we shouldn't just yet. Not until we observe it." Her tone was quite serious, but she didn't expect The Doctor to listen. After all, he called the shots. He was the time traveler.

But his answer shocked her. "Okay. We'll observe. Let's just talk to the village people shall we?"

"Well, erm, alright." Hermione didn't like The Doctor's plan, but he had agreed to hers, so she didn't protest. "I know where we can start. Mind you, it's not the best of places."

They walked to the end of the shops, until they came across a worn down looking pub; a sign barely reading the word's The Hog's Head, hung above the door. Hermione opened it slowly, peering inside. A man covered in rags from head to toe, was mindlessly cleaning a pint that would never come clean. Hermione gasped and quickly shut the door. "Okay, new plan. We can't ask the villagers."

"What? Why not? I always ask!" The Doctor asked, trying to get to the door of the pub, but Hermione had it blocked.

"We can't! Just trust me, please. I need to find a copy of The Daily Prophet." She said, heading away from the pub.

"Hermione." The Doctor's voice rang out to her, and she turned to face him. "Tell me why we can't talk to the villagers." He stood firmly, and Hermione knew they weren't going to go anywhere until she explained.

"If we talk to anyone, it'll mess with their minds. They'll be confused; they won't know what's going on. They'll think they've gone mad."

"Why?"

Hermione sighed. "We're not in the present. We're in the past. No one here knows me as I am now. It must be some time during my school years, I just have to figure out which one." She said, strolling towards an abandoned newspaper stand.

She picked up a newspaper and read the date. _June 22__nd__, 1995. Oh, no. _She thought. _No, no, no. _

"1995? That's boring; nothing exciting happened in 1995." The Doctor's voice came from directly over her shoulder.

Hermione laid the newspaper back down gently, her mind reeling. She felt like she was about to be sick; why did they have to come back to _this _year? Hermione turned to the face The Doctor to find him staring at her intently. He knew something was wrong from her lack of words.

"Tell me what's wrong Hermione." The Doctor said, searching her horror stricken face.

"This is my fourth year of Hogwarts. The year of the Tri-Wizard tournament. It's also the year Voldemort returns."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The Doctor stared at Hermione, drinking in her words. "Okay, so, we're in the past. We can't be seen by anyone because of you, and the most powerful dark wizard of all time is returning. Something's wrong with this picture here. But what is it?" The Doctor paced, frustrated. He was stroking his chin and muttering to himself. Hermione had led them to end of the village, in perfect view of the shrieking shack. No one ever came here.

"Harry." Hermione whispered to herself; it was finally clicking in her head. "Doctor, Harry!" She called a bit louder.

The Doctor looked up, detached from his thoughts. "What?"

"Harry! This has to do with Harry! Harry witnessed Voldemort return, fought him and got away. But we're here, so something must have gone wrong." Hermione said more to herself than to The Doctor. She was trying to figure out what was different now, but that wouldn't be possible until they observed the castle and talked to someone.

The Doctor was leaning on the fence, staring out at the shrieking shack. His face was contorted with concentration. Clearly he was thinking about this just as much as Hermione. There was a prolonged silence between the two as they both searched their minds for answer. Hot sunshine was pouring down on them, making it difficult to keep track of their thoughts. Neither one of them heard the approach of an old man, with a long silvery beard, and half-mooned spectacles, walk up behind them.

"Good afternoon Ms. Granger." He spoke.

Hermione spun around, wondering who was addressing her. She was shocked when she saw it was Professor Dumbledore standing in front of her. "Sir?"

"Nice to see you, Doctor." The headmaster turned to address The Doctor, who looked positively shocked to see him. Clearly, he had no idea who this man was. "Professor Albus Dumbledore." He smiled slightly as he introduced himself, clearly aware The Doctor didn't know him.

"What?" The Doctor muttered to himself. He shook his head, composing himself. "Pleasure to meet you, Professor. How did you…how did you manage to call my TARDIS here?" he asked, still perplexed.

Dumbledore peered at him over his spectacles. "I have my ways. Now, shall we go for a round of drinks while I explain to the two of you the seriousness of this situation?" He asked.

Hermione and The Doctor exchanged looks, and shrugged before following Dumbledore to The Three Broomsticks. Hermione was having a hard time comprehending that Dumbledore was still alive. She tried not to think about it too much; it just made her sad.

"Did you know I was with The Doctor, professor?" Hermione asked.

"I did not, but I must say it was a pleasant surprise!" He chuckled.

They entered an empty Three Broomsticks, and Madame Rosemerta was at the bar, cleaning glasses. She hadn't even noticed them walk in.

"Ms. Granger, please find a seat where Ms. Rosemerta can't see us. She might find it a bit of a shock that you're much older and here during school hours." He said, before ordering three butterbeers.

Hermione nodded and led The Doctor to a table that was behind a fake plant.

"Doctor, how did Professor Dumbledore call us here?" Hermione asked.

The Doctor was staring at Dumbledore, as if this would bring him an answer. "I have no idea." He said quietly.

Dumbledore returned with their drinks a moment later, and sat calmly before the two. "So, why don't you two tell me what you already know?"

The Doctor nodded in Hermione's direction, telling her that she could explain. "Well, we know that we're in the year that Voldemort returns. And we think this has something to do with Harry." She said slowly, in fear that they were completely wrong.

To her surprise however, Dumbledore nodded in agreement with every word she said. "You are correct Ms. Granger. I am pleasantly surprised to see that your logic skills have only improved since your school days."

Hermione looked surprised, and The Doctor beamed at her. "So, what don't we know, Professor?" she asked, anxious to hear just how bad the situation was.

Dumbledore took a deep breath before explaining. "I assume that you remember the reason in which Harry was entered in the Tri-wizard tournament in the first place?"

Hermione nodded, recalling that Barty Crouch Jr. had disguised himself as Mad-Eye Moody, and entered Harry's name into the Goblet. Mad-Eye Moody had secretly helped Harry through the tournament, so Harry could win the tournament.

"There was an accident not long after the second task. Mad-Eye accidentally ricocheted the killing curse off a mirror, resulting in his death." Dumbledore said gravely.

"But sir, can't we just let Harry lose the tournament? Voldemort can't come back without Harry there." Hermione asked, confused.

Hermione expected Dumbledore to answer, but she was surprised when it was The Doctor who answered this time. "It's a fixed point in time. Not everything can be rewritten. Harry has to be there for Voldemort to return." The Doctor looked at the ground and ruffled his hair. "I'm sorry."

Hermione merely nodded, and sipped her butterbeer. The Doctor watched her, uncertain at how she would react later. Harry, after all, was her best friend. Hearing that she had to help him bring the back the most feared wizard of all time, was clearly not what she had in mind.

"So, how are we going to do this?" The Doctor asked.

"It's simple. The two of you will be hiding along the edge of the maze, making sure that Harry makes it to the cup, with Mr. Diggory. That is very important. Ms. Delacour and Mr. Krum must not make it to the cup. Do you understand?" Dumbledore spoke clearly, and Hermione and The Doctor hung on to his every word.

Once they all agreed on a meeting place, the three walked out of The Three Broomsticks, and The Doctor and Hermione returned to the TARDIS. They had two days until the third task, and it was time to lie low. The pair of them wandered around the grounds at night, when everyone was asleep. It was a nice change for Hermione to be the one explaining things to The Doctor; up until now, it had been the other way around.

The morning of the 24th came much quicker than Hermione would have liked. The air was cool, and tension was evident. The Doctor kept casting her nervous looks and to be quite honest, it was getting on Hermione's last nerve. Of course she wasn't happy about aiding her best friend to helping Voldemort return, but it had to be done. Besides, she experienced much worse in the years to come.

"Will you _please _stop looking at me as though I'm going to fall to pieces at any moment?" she asked, completely irritated. They were sitting by the Shrieking Shack, where they had spent the majority of their two days.

"Sorry." The Doctor said absent mindedly.

"It's alright. I've faced worse, you know." She said, observing the early morning sky. The sun was just barely visible over a hill in the distance, and birds were beginning to chirp.

The Doctor cracked a smile for the first time since they had arrived here. "Me too."

After summoning food from The Three Broomsticks, the pair of them decided to start making their way to the castle grounds. Dumbledore instructed them to meet him at the edge of the Forbidden forest where the maze had been built.

"Doctor?" Hermione asked, thinking about their conversation earlier that morning.

"Yes?"

"What have you faced that is worse than today?" she asked curiously.

The Doctor's eyebrows furrowed into the middle of his forehead and he frowned slightly, his bottom lip pouting. "Now is not the time to discuss this." Was all he said, and Hermione could tell by his tone, he was serious.

They saw Dumbledore standing by the trees observing a beetle that was scurrying up the trunk of a tree. Hermione laughed to herself, remembering how strange the Professor could be.

"Ah, Good Morning Ms. Granger. Doctor." Dumbledore nodded, as they grew closer.

"Good Morning Professor Dumbledore." Hermione said in return.

"Now, the two of you must remember not to be seen while the task is taking place. And remember, Harry must get to the cup with Mr. Diggory." Dumbledore repeated what they both already knew.

Dumbledore waved and dismissed himself from their presence. The reality of the situation sunk in, and Hermione felt her head spin. Grabbing on to a nearby tree, The Doctor helped steady her. She knew he would no longer believe her when she said she was fine.

"I guess it's been quite a while since I've been in this kind of situation." Hermione laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

The Doctor merely stared at her, concern written on the lines of his face. He was worrying for nothing, really. Though telling The Doctor this would be futile.

"So why exactly, is this called The Forbidden Forest?" The Doctor asked, clearly trying to change the subject.

Hermione smiled to herself, remembering that The Doctor doesn't actually know everything. "Well there's said to be werewolves, and there are centaurs, unicorns, and surely other creatures in there. Much too dangerous for students to go wandering about."

"_That _sounds like an adventure to me! Shall we?" he extended his hand and his mouth spread into a wide grin across his face.

"Well, erm…" Hermione tried to think of a reason not to, but found her brain had stopped working.

"Oh come on! The task doesn't start for hours! Might as well have some fun in the mean time!" The Doctor reasoned, pulling her into the dark depths of the forest.

_Running into werewolves does not seem like a fun adventure. _She thought as they whisked past fifty foot trees, and clearings of bright green grass.

Along the path, they spotted a herd of centaurs. Hermione had had plenty of conversations with centaurs to last her a lifetime, so she sat against a tree trunk, as The Doctor questioned them endlessly about who knows what.

The sun was now high in the sky, and its rays were fighting their way into the forest. The air was humid and Hermione's hair was beginning to frizz. Beads of sweat were starting to form along her brow and her neck. Deciding it was time to head back to the edge of the forest, she got up from her spot to get The Doctor. To her surprise, however, The Doctor was nowhere in sight. Hermione realized she must have zoned out waiting for him. A shred of panic rose in her chest as she recalled just how big the forest was.

"Doctor?" she called out anxiously, her voice shaking slightly. "I really think we should go back now."

There was no reply. Groaning, Hermione began to wander down the path. "Doctor!" she called again.

"Hello!" his voice rang from a behind a tree next to her. His face popped out, the same big grin on his face. Hermione jumped and let out a yelp.

"Don't scare me like that!" she scolded.

"Stop being so uptight, would you? Come on then, you wanted to get back right?" he asked, walking ahead of her.

"Right." Hermione said softly, staring after him. She didn't know why, but she had these moments when The Doctor's mere existence baffled her. Normally, she would be offended if someone told her to stop being uptight, but when The Doctor said it, it seemed so logical, like she should have done it ages ago.

They were back at their hide out spot, waiting for the third task to start. They had a couple hours yet, as the task wouldn't start until dusk, and Hermione saw it as the perfect opportunity to ask The Doctor about something else she had been thinking about.

"Doctor." She said, not fully grabbing his attention from a dung beetle that had been crawling on his shoe.

"Hmm?" he had put his glasses on, and was now examining the beetle.

"What happened to Rose?" she asked cautiously, not entirely sure if The Doctor would even tell her.

"I told you, she got trapped in a parallel universe." The Doctor said softly, now putting more attention on the beetle than necessary.

"I know, but…how? What happened?" Hermione persisted.

The Doctor put down the beetle and took of his glasses, rubbing his temples. "We had to stop the Daleks and Cybermen from taking over the world and the only way to do so was to send them into this void. Rose and I had to pull these levers to open the void, and then we had to hang on to these…wall suction cup thingys. Well, her lever began shifting, and if it shifted to the other side, the void would close. Rose let go of the suction up, and switched the lever again, but the force was too strong and she began to be pulled in to the void. Thankfully, her father from the parallel universe came back and was able to take her back with him. Unfortunately, once the void was closed, so were the parallel universes. We can never see each other again." The Doctor said the last sentence more to himself than to Hermione, and she could have sworn she saw a tear run down his cheek. She felt guilty for being so persistent.

"I'm sorry, Doctor. I shouldn't have asked." She mumbled, picking at a patch of grass.

The Doctor sniffled, turning his head. "It's quite alright! I have you now, don't I?" he smiled again, but Hermione knew in that moment, he was wishing it was Rose instead.


End file.
